


The Onyx Mine

by theweddingofthefoxes



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Altered States, Collars, Dom Hux, Kylux Hard Kinks, Leashes, M/M, Monster Kylo Ren, Pet Play, Praise Kink, mentions of violence/death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-31
Updated: 2016-12-31
Packaged: 2018-09-13 14:29:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9127783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theweddingofthefoxes/pseuds/theweddingofthefoxes
Summary: A fill for thisKylux Hard Kinks prompt."So a monster!kylo au where Hux has to keep Kylo under control when he's in his monster state, and keeps him on a leash or in a cage. But then one day he puts him in it when he's more in control and finds that it's arousing for both of them to treat Kylo almost like his pet."





	

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know if this is _exactly_ what the prompter wanted, but it was such a good and striking prompt and I hope it's satisfying!
> 
> I literally made up all of the animals mentioned (besides Wookie) because why not.

_After years of training, something woke up, UP, something that lifted him to a dizzying new place so distant he could hardly see where he had begun, and it was powerful and perfect and unclouded with the fears and worries and intruding thoughts and distractions of a man, and he was whole and he had arrived at a state, not a permanent one, but a state where he could finally allow himself to be exactly what he had spent his entire life working to become._

_What comes up must come down._

_What comes up must come down._

_What comes up...._

 

 

When Hux was a child, his favorite holo show was about a team of planetary explorers who found injured beasts in the wild and nursed them back to health. It sounded soft, _cute_ , even, but it was satisfyingly graphic for a bloodthirsty little boy who was not yet old or strong enough to shed any blood himself. More often than not, the creatures had no intention of being rescued, and used every available means to defend themselves from what they considered an imminent threat. Teeth, claws, poison, tails like whips, wings strong enough to break a skull with a single beat, horns. The explorers were often as badly hurt as the creatures by the time they got them subdued, but every episode ended the same--they succeeded, patched it up and either released it back into the wild or brought it back to live in their special sanctuary, where it became almost like a pet.

This was the part that amazed Hux the most as a kid. Here were these massive, dangerous animals, who could kill their keepers anytime they wanted--they were strong enough, once healthy, even if they could no longer fly or burrow or swim--but treated them instead with adoration. They accepted head scratches and nicknames and lay on their backs to expose bellies and necks. One of the team, a young woman with a mass of dark curls always tied back at the nape of her neck, had bonded especially well with an enormous canid, and it acted like a puppy around her, playing fetch with a branch that could be used to club a Wookie. 

Had it forgotten it was wild, dangerous? Or had it simply hedged its bets, chosen a life of comfort and safety and love? Teeth and claws were only necessary to those who were starving, or defending territory or mates or babies. Blasters and pistols and were only of any use if you had anything to defend. Would he, as a little boy, have chosen the path he had walked, one full of struggle and grit and establishing dominance, if he hadn't needed to? 

He calls up reruns of this show-- _Tyak's Rescues_ , that's what it was called--late one night after Ren is asleep in bed next to him and he's too anxious to let his head go quiet but there's no more work that can be done. The dark-haired girl, who had seemed like a grown-up to him then, was probably no more than eighteen or nineteen, a kid. And yet, he still envied her ease with wild things, how the canid forgot his teeth in her presence. 

 

 

"What does it feel like when you come to?" Hux asks Ren once after he returns to himself. Not immediately after. A few hours.

"What was the worst hangover you ever had?" Ren asks by way of answering.

Hux had been twenty-two and pissed, first in the angry sense but soon enough in the drunken sense. A dipshit of an officer had been chosen for a promotion over him, a real lunkhead. He let some of his friends convince him--it hadn't been hard--that if he wasn't expected to be at the promotion ceremony the next day, he could drink as much as he wanted that night. Hux spent the next day alternating between thinking he was going to die and hoping he would. 

Like so many other things that seemed important at the time, it really didn't end up mattering much. The guy got himself gunned down within six months and this time Hux was chosen instead. All that fuss for a mere delay. 

"Why do you think that is?" Hux asks. He's genuinely curious.

"It takes a lot of energy to do it. Physically, mentally. Spiritually." By now Hux has trained himself to not roll his eyes or sigh in exasperation when Ren talks about spiritual exertion. Mostly because he has seen the transformation with his own eyes. It has not made a devout worshiper of him, but a believer, for sure. 

Ren's training had been successful. 

He had mined deep within himself and struck a sublime well of darkness, like a rich mine of onyx, and when he entered that place, he became something else. Hux had seen it. Ren had long worked to create the image of being more than human, divorced from humanity, hidden under masks and capes, but this was not a carefully crafted image, it was a body-and-soul metamorphosis. He still looked mostly human, except his eyes were fully black, fully, not a trace of whites, even the dark irises went even darker, there was only black. He moved differently, his body seemed to contort in ways that were not possible when he was himself, he was faster and more flexible, he shimmered with the Force like heated air, he could not speak, could only shout or snarl. 

In this state, he felt no pain and could not be discouraged or negotiated with or distracted from his goal, and his goal was always full and total destruction. Hadn't this always been what his purpose, making himself into a weapon? Hadn't the onyx mine within him been what Snoke had seen all those years ago when he had chosen the boy Ben?

Ren was deadly when he entered the onyx mine but it was not always so easy for him to get back out. It didn't help that he had tapped into this ability after he and Hux had started fucking on a regular basis. Now, it seemed, Hux was obligated to care about him instead of conveniently forgetting him on whatever planet he had landed upon in order to wreak havoc. He told himself he would simply dislike a cold bed and the lack of dead enemies, but there was more to it than that. Fucking Ren was a real indulgence, something he genuinely enjoyed. Seeing Ren asleep in his bed was honestly one of his favorite things, still visibly muscled and powerful and beautiful but off, that dark energy stored away for a time. Waiting. 

Post-battle, or post-execution, or post-whatever-assignment-Snoke-had-thrown-him-into, Ren wasn't going to just turn off his power. Like alcohol in the blood, like a fever that must break, the darkness had to ebb its way out of him, and he was still extraordinarily destructive in the meantime. Hux laughed bitterly to think of the days when he thought destroying a control panel was bad. He missed them, now that entire wings needed repair. 

Well. There was no un-teaching Ren how to do this. Hux would instead have to be like Tyak, and take on his own rescues, even at the risk of being bitten or clawed or gored. He wonders if his childhood spent watching this show has primed him for this task, has made him feel somehow fearless, because he knows how each episode ends, they all end happily, and safe, bandaged, sure, but everything works out in the end, and the creatures run off good as new.

 

First times are always memorable. Hux remembers the first time he shot someone. He remembers the first time his father struck him. He remembers the first time he came from someone else's hand. He remembers the first time he was promoted. 

_You never forget your first..._

The first time he decides to take Ren's comedown into his own hands, he is quite satisfied with the results. 

What in the world does he call what it is that he's doing, anyway? Is this discipline or aftercare? Is it therapeutic or veterinary? He doesn't have a fucking clue. But he is determined to figure out how this is to be done. 

They discuss it at length. How much control did Ren have over himself in this state? Would he recognize Hux? What would they do if he hurt Hux? What would they do if Hux hurt him? What objects would be most effective in this pursuit? How much did Ren remember afterwards, and how much did he want to be told?

Hux does nothing without a plan. 

Ren has said he does recognize Hux, when he's altered. He can't guarantee he'll be particularly obedient, but that's a start. The first time Hux comes to take control of the situation, after Ren has been brought back on board and is still surging with power, growling, aching with the need to ruin, Hux can tell that Ren knows who he is. 

The corridor has emptied. It is now Hux and the beast he must rescue, not even a film crew to take witness. 

The hardest part will be getting the collar on.

Receiving this collar is the most unbelievable act of trust Ren has ever shown Hux, perhaps to anyone. It is specially made to, not entirely block his use of the Force, but make it muted and fuzzy, make it harder for him to lash out with it. At first Hux thinks that will force him to come back to himself, out of the monster state, but it doesn't quite work that way. It won't really make him docile, either, but it will probably lower his chances of getting killed. If he can get it on him.

"Ren," Hux says, in the same firm forward voice that Tyak always used on the show. "I'm coming towards you, nice and slow. Stay still for me." It is somewhere between a command and a reassurance. Ren is upright but hunched, as if he might spring onto all fours, something that Hux sincerely hopes he won't do. It is absolutely unnerving how well he can walk on all fours in this state, like he has really begun to shift and melt into something bestial. 

Ren hunches lower but remains standing, watching Hux through his black eyes that seem unseeing and yet all-seeing. It's hard to tell what he's focusing on. His soft lower lip is bitten and dotted with blood, the upper lip drawn up to show teeth. But he does seem restrained.

"Slow. Slow, now. I'm coming slow."

Hux is so close that he can feel Ren's breath on his face, scorching hot. His every move is deliberate and slow and long, exaggerated. 'No sudden movements' was a mantra of Tyak's. 

"Your patience will be rewarded, Ren." He is determined to say his name often, testing the theory it will be of some help. "We'll go back to my quarters, and you can lie down and rest. You have used quite a lot of energy today."

Ren gives a growl that Hux could interpret as assent.

"That's a good boy."

Hux doesn't think before he says that. It's something that was said often on the show, mostly to the animals that were either sedated or the ones in the sanctuary. Is it anthropomorphizing if the beast really is a human? Hux links the leash to the collar. 

"Good."

There's a lot of slack to the leash, since Ren seems to understand where they're going and follows willingly, though he seems irritated by the doors shutting behind them once they reach Hux's quarters. "It's all right," Hux says, fully aware he has shut himself in with the beast. "It's all right."

Ren looks towards the doors, then makes a move to bolt, not that they're going to open, anyway, and Hux immediately yanks on the leash with all his strength. It's not enough to pull Ren to his knees, especially not in this state, but it does make him stop and let out something halfway between a growl and a whimper.

"No," Hux says. "No. Stay here. You are going to rest."

The low strange sound pours out from Ren's mouth again, lower this time, defeated. He allows Hux to pull him by the leash over to a section of the room where Hux has installed a hooked bolt to the floor to lock the leash to. Ren might be more animal-like now, but he can still use his hands, and it's not enough to merely clip it. There's a bed, standard trooper size, barely enough to contain all of Ren's bulk, but covered with soft blankets. It's Hux's sincere hope that he will finally drop from exhaustion, having used up all his reserves on this mission.

"Lie down," he commands. 

Ren lies down. Hux peers into his eyes. The jet black of them is beginning to pale into a dirty grey, so he looks like a man seen through a cloud of smoke. 

"That's a good boy," he says again. "I'm so pleased, Ren. So pleased." 

To his astonishment, Ren butts his hand with his head, the way Hux's childhood cat used to when she wanted to be petted. If it keeps him under control, Hux is happy to indulge.

"So good," Hux murmurs, stroking Ren's thick hair with slow, even strokes. "You decimated the Rebel spies, didn't you? You didn't let any of them get away. I got the report right before you arrived. What a good boy."

He spends a long time doing this and Ren doesn't move.

Ren's eyes are nearly back to normal by the time they flutter shut and Ren sinks into a 14-hour sleep, and Hux isn't sure whether it he was in or out of the onyx mine when he wanted to be petted, and he isn't sure that he cares. 

It occurs to him that this went so smoothly for a reason. That despite everything, the wildness in Ren, whatever killer instinct is surging through him, he wants to behave for Hux. This state has freed him to become his most base self. In his normal state, during normal circumstances, he might not want to admit how far his desire to please Hux goes, or know how to. But a beast has no subtlety and a beast has no shame.

 

 

Asking Ren to take on his monstrous form is incredibly taxing. Snoke doesn't expect it for just anything, only circumstances that absolutely require it. It's several months before it happens again.

In the meantime, Hux begins to suspect Ren remembers certain aspects of his last transformation more than he lets on.

Hux lets a 'good boy' slip into a very routine late-night fucking, and it drives Ren absolutely wild. "Yes," he snarls, alight with ecstasy, his feet straining against the footboard of the bed. "Fuck yes, yes, I am--I'm good--say it--"

This is so very promising.

"Good boy," Hux pants out, and Ren moans from the very deepest part of his chest, where Hux imagines the onyx mine is located, like nothing Hux has heard before.

"Fucking collar me," Ren demands. "Chain me up. Make me yours, all yours. An animal you have to fucking break, Hux. I want that--I want--"

"Yes," Hux says, shaking with arousal, can practically taste his heartbeat, that's how fast it's beating way up in his throat, hearing these things. "My good boy, yes, of course. You are mine. You are."

So very promising. 

 

"Do you like going into your other state?" Hux asks once a few days later.

"Yes," Ren says, without having to think about it. "I do."

Sometimes Hux masturbates to the thought of that first time, of the feeling that went through him when Ren whimpered at the pull of the leash before finally surrendering. 

"It's so freeing," Ren whispers to him before pulling him into a hungry kiss. "I am so....myself."

 

Ren doesn't take on his other form often enough for Hux to feel like the word 'routine' is the right one, but things fall into a certain kind of pattern.

He approaches, slow and easy, and after a tense few minutes of slow maneuvering, gets the collar around Ren's neck. Even after a few times, it's still frightening, because this is when Ren has the best opportunity to strike him down like everyone else on the mission he's still adrenaline-addled from. Hux always understands the risk. Even an experienced handler can get hurt or even killed when approaching a creature so dangerous.

Ren doesn't kill him and only rarely hurts him. He makes a lot of fuss, snarling and growling, straining against the collar, tossing his head and exhaling hard, but he understands that he is being led by a member of his own pack, someone he wants to please. Being shut into the room always seems to rile him up, but when Hux offers firm, steady assurances, and touches him gently, he settles.

It has become something they both look forward to.

"You're so tired," Hux says this time, not in a whispery parental soothing tone but the in the confident, simple way of a medic who is informing a patient of his injuries. "You've been fighting, my good boy, and winning, and it has worn you out. You'll lie down now."

The bed is put back in storage during the weeks Ren is fully himself, and the hook near the floor is easily ignored. While Ren is out actually slaughtering, Hux has it set up so it's ready by the time they return. Ren is clipped and told to lie down, but he wants Hux's attention, he wants it right now. He tosses his head, lets out a growl.

"Easy, Ren. Easy. What do you want, good boy?"

Ren nuzzles against Hux's leg, his black eyes shiny and empty and expectant as he looks up at him.

"Lie down and I'll pet you."

Hux keeps his promise as Ren settles down into the blankets, still with his head touching Hux's knee. "What a good pet," Hux says, low, pleased, as he combs his fingers through Ren's hair. "You are so perfect like this, Ren. I can't believe I ever had my doubts about this, about you entering this state."

Ren whimpers, not in pain, but something else, something gentler and yet more wanting. 

"You decimate the enemies of the First Order and then come trotting back to me, so sweet, so well-behaved. What a good guard animal you are. No one will ever harm the First Order with you protecting it, good boy."

Ren shifts closer, wanting more contact, more touch, clearly encouraged. Hux continues, now stroking the skin of his neck, his chest, his stomach. Slowly. No sudden movements. He talks, continuously, hypnotically, as he moves. 

"So good. No one will dare attack us, good boy, how could they, when they know how terrifying you are, what you've done to those who have tried? You are so frightening, so wonderful. So good at protecting me."

His hand brushes against the inside of Ren's thigh. 

 

"Would you fuck me in that state?" Ren had asked the week before. 

"Would you let me?" Hux wanted to know. 

 

"I think a good boy deserves a reward," Hux says, hearing how husky his voice has become. He has sunk so deep into this role of caretaker or master or attentive lover or--whatever this is--and he doesn't know if he wants to come back up. "Do you?"

Ren lifts his hips, pushing at his leggings to try and get them down as fast as possible. There's plenty of slack in the leash, just to make sure Ren's comfortable until he falls asleep, but Hux pulls on it gently to get his attention. Ren stops. Whimpers.

"Do you?"

Ren wriggles, frustrated. The just-barely fading blackness of his eyes stare up into the ceiling, looking at what, Hux doesn't know. 

"Do you think I should reward you?"

Ren whimpers as Hux traces his fingers along Ren's cock, trapped in his leggings. He manages to nod. 

"All right, then." 

 

 

Ren sleeps for nearly an entire day after that and Hux begins to worry that something went wrong. That he used him too much, too thoroughly. 

"You really are good," he admits to Ren, lying next to him, sleeping like the fucking dead, he can't hear Hux and is thus perfect for confessing to. "You're--wonderful."

When Ren wakes, he rolls over like it's any other morning, rubbing hard at his forehead, and yawns. 

"Get me something to eat, won't you?"

Hux has dinner brought. Picks things he knows Ren will like. Meat and starch and the colorful vegetables that he could personally never stomach, and then something sweet for dessert. Ren shovels it in methodically, offers pieces to Hux, who takes them, except for the little vegetables coins, which he waves away, wrinkling his nose.

"You eat like a six-year-old."

"I know what I like, that's all."

"Mm." Ren looks over slyly, swallowing a mouthful. "You like taming monsters, that's what you like."

"Preventing damage and injury while getting and giving personal satisfaction is a rather good deal, wouldn't you say?"

Ren's eyes are so beautiful when they're normal, Hux decides. So expressive. He smiles as he takes another bite of his dinner. 

"You were a man born to spread propaganda, Hux."

"And tame monsters?"

"And tame monsters. Can I read the mission report?"

Later they will make love, can't even really call it fucking, because they'll actually be nice to one another. Say things that are acceptable under the cover of darkness. Hux will smoke afterwards like a fucking cliche. He will tell Ren that he is good, so good, because he is, he is good.

It will be weeks and weeks before Ren is asked to enter the onyx mine again and that's okay.

 

_What goes up must come down._

_What goes up must come down._

_What goes up...._

_Hey, everyone! It's me, Tyak! This week, we'll be venturing to Jakku, where all kinds of desert creatures are going to need our help. Hopefully my buddy Imso doesn't bite off more than he can chew as he tries to wrangle an injured Telki-Bird---or rather, hopefully he won't get more bitten off! Come on, let's get going!_

**Author's Note:**

> It's been far too long since I've written something nice and gross and self-indulgent and weird. I slammed this out in like four hours because I was inspired. 
> 
> I'll be your lil marshmallow on [Tumblr](http://theweddingofthefoxes.tumblr.com/).


End file.
